Act-On Software vs. Everest (Return Path + 250ok)

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Act-On
Score 8.0 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
Act-On is an adaptive marketing platform designed to drive personal and purposeful multi-channel marketing. Its foci are inbound and outbound marketing, for enabling a tighter alignment with sales and turning data into actionable insights.
$900
per month (starts at 2,500 active contacts)
Everest (Return Path + 250ok)
Score 9.2 out of 10
N/A
Everest is an integrated email success platform providing crucial insights and deliverability guidance so users can reach more people, increase engagement, and improve efficiencies of their email programs. Everest helps to improve email deliverability by getting complete visibility into email marketing metrics and sender reputation, understand the audience and deliver content that is timely, personalized, and functions flawlessly on any device, and get a holistic view of a company's…
$20
per month
Pricing
Act-On SoftwareEverest (Return Path + 250ok)
Editions & Modules
Professional
$900
per month (starts at 2,500 active contacts)
Enterprise
$2,000
per month ( starts at 2,500 active contacts)
Elements
$20
per month
Elements Plus
$525
per month
Professional
Custom Pricing
Enterprise
Custom Pricing
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Act-OnEverest (Return Path + 250ok)
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
Additional DetailsThe Professional package starts at 2,500 active contacts, 3 marketing users, 50 sales users and 30,000 API calls per day. The Enterprise package starts at 2,500 active contacts, 6 marketing users, 100 sales users and 30,000 API calls per day. Annual contract required.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Act-On SoftwareEverest (Return Path + 250ok)
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Act-On SoftwareEverest (Return Path + 250ok)
Email & Online Marketing
Comparison of Email & Online Marketing features of Product A and Product B
Act-On Software
7.8
113 Ratings
1% above category average
Everest (Return Path + 250ok)
6.1
21 Ratings
28% below category average
WYSIWYG email editor8.1112 Ratings5.02 Ratings
Dynamic content8.192 Ratings5.32 Ratings
Ability to test dynamic content7.192 Ratings6.47 Ratings
Landing pages8.1108 Ratings5.02 Ratings
A/B testing8.195 Ratings6.58 Ratings
Mobile optimization7.2103 Ratings3.36 Ratings
Email deliverability reporting8.1112 Ratings8.121 Ratings
List management8.1111 Ratings7.09 Ratings
Triggered drip sequences7.187 Ratings8.02 Ratings
Lead Management
Comparison of Lead Management features of Product A and Product B
Act-On Software
8.1
113 Ratings
3% above category average
Everest (Return Path + 250ok)
-
Ratings
Lead nurturing automation8.1104 Ratings00 Ratings
Lead scoring and grading8.1104 Ratings00 Ratings
Data quality management8.1102 Ratings00 Ratings
Automated sales alerts and tasks8.195 Ratings00 Ratings
Campaign Management
Comparison of Campaign Management features of Product A and Product B
Act-On Software
7.5
77 Ratings
2% below category average
Everest (Return Path + 250ok)
-
Ratings
Calendaring6.88 Ratings00 Ratings
Event/webinar marketing8.176 Ratings00 Ratings
Social Media Marketing
Comparison of Social Media Marketing features of Product A and Product B
Act-On Software
8.1
71 Ratings
7% above category average
Everest (Return Path + 250ok)
-
Ratings
Social sharing and campaigns8.169 Ratings00 Ratings
Social profile integration8.163 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Act-On Software
8.1
114 Ratings
8% above category average
Everest (Return Path + 250ok)
6.1
22 Ratings
23% below category average
Dashboards8.1109 Ratings7.222 Ratings
Standard reports8.1112 Ratings6.720 Ratings
Custom reports8.184 Ratings4.516 Ratings
Platform & Infrastructure
Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Product A and Product B
Act-On Software
7.9
107 Ratings
4% above category average
Everest (Return Path + 250ok)
-
Ratings
API8.167 Ratings00 Ratings
Role-based workflow & approvals8.171 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizability8.189 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with Salesforce.com8.165 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM8.136 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with SugarCRM7.129 Ratings00 Ratings
Pre-Send Testing
Comparison of Pre-Send Testing features of Product A and Product B
Act-On Software
-
Ratings
Everest (Return Path + 250ok)
8.0
10 Ratings
3% below category average
URL Validation00 Ratings8.16 Ratings
Link Tracking00 Ratings6.73 Ratings
Image Validation00 Ratings7.66 Ratings
Inbox Display00 Ratings8.57 Ratings
Email Accessibility Tools00 Ratings7.54 Ratings
Spelling and Grammar Check00 Ratings7.82 Ratings
Spam Testing00 Ratings9.09 Ratings
Email Previews00 Ratings9.08 Ratings
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User Ratings
Act-On SoftwareEverest (Return Path + 250ok)
Likelihood to Recommend
8.1
(219 ratings)
5.5
(27 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.9
(112 ratings)
8.2
(5 ratings)
Usability
9.1
(32 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(14 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.2
(13 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.3
(39 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
In-Person Training
8.7
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.3
(16 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.6
(22 ratings)
8.2
(1 ratings)
Configurability
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
6.4
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.2
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.1
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Act-On SoftwareEverest (Return Path + 250ok)
Likelihood to Recommend
Act-On
Act-On simplifies the creation of landing pages, web forms, email campaigns, and other types of marketing automation. Designing a customer journey using the workflow builder (a nurturing flow) is possible. It is used in various ways and in a variety of contexts. Tactical's knowledgeable support team helped us unlock Act-On's potential for complex integrations and marketing campaigns. In some areas, it would be beneficial to improve functionality.
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Validity
Every new or established brand should be using Everest. It doesn't matter what you're trying to say in your emails—if they're not reaching the inbox, no one is listening or reading. Everest gives you the insight you need to understand your inbox placement, reputation and so much more.
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Pros
Act-On
  • Establishes a simple but very decisive way of how to perform specialized marketing work.
  • It includes the monitoring of advertising networks or account management on digital platforms and social networks.
  • The support is solid; it takes all the suggestions and doubts I have regarding the software.
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Validity
  • Individualized attention. They really dug in to understand our products and services.
  • Easy-to-understand training and actionable items that you can sustain over a long period of time.
  • They're embedded in our instance of Exact Target, so I'm able to review the entire email program and don't have to open up a separate tool to gather this information.
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Cons
Act-On
  • The designer tools, especially for emails, were often difficult to use. The formatting of the text would be all over the place and change / refuse to change at random. Moving boxes around was shifty and sometimes nearly impossible. It just wasn't customizeable enough. No "undo" functionality either.
  • The only way to collect information expansively over time (there's a term Act-On uses for it, I can't recall) where it adds questions to the form each time a user fills it out, is if the person were to fill out the same form multiple times. I know this does happen for some websites/resources, but as a company that wanted to collect new information each time someone filled out any form, regardless of the resource or the URL, that was simply not an option, and that doesn't really make a lot of sense. I know it's not really possible to track someone but if they filled out the first part of the form and then it added new questions to answer, and then they submitted and got through the gating, that would actually be helpful.
  • There was no "trash can" of sorts in case you deleted something by mistake. This could be so stress-inducing if it was a major project. My coworker did this once, contacted Act-On, they couldn't even recover it.
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Validity
  • Some domain summary data inconsistent with seedlist detail
  • UI feels a little dated
  • Reporting options are limited
  • As part of the SFMC integration, Return Path support issues and question go through Salesforce, not Return Path
  • Inbox Preview rendering could be more robust and extensive
  • Would like to see Dark Mode previewing rendering
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Likelihood to Renew
Act-On
It's my single biggest asset in my current role. With limited resources, its enabled Anachron to punch well above our weight marketing wise and although we're still at the beginning of our journey I know the system can scale with us
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Validity
We have two separate areas for using Return Path. Our web ecommerce area that is using only transactional emails and a marketing email program that is partnered on the backend with Return Path. I see Return Path continuing to be utilized with our marketing emails, but over time I see less need for our transactional emails to maintain Return Path components.
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Usability
Act-On
It's good, but not quite brilliant. Some parts of the interface are still a bit outdated. The product has been evolving very fast, though, and I believe in a few months it will be up there with the best of them, interface wise as well.
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Validity
I find it fairly easy to use, though the interface is a bit clunky and I may be missing some revolutionary use because it's lost in the clutter.
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Reliability and Availability
Act-On
I have always found them quick to respond to my query by web inquiry. In those instances when I call, I have always reached help quickly. They are conscientious and skilled in discussing my concern and finding a solution to my problem. Other tech organizations should use Act-On as a model for top-notch customer service.
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Validity
No answers on this topic
Performance
Act-On
Great for the most part. Sometimes there are little lags, but that's likely because I'm requesting to see a lot of data at one time.
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Validity
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Act-On
Since we start using Act-on for ourselves and our clients, we have been supported very well. Often we need to integrate with legacy systems and we find the support team on our side during the whole endeavor. Always asking if they can help us further, always willing to do a better job. The support of Act-On is one of the main differentiators
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Validity
Absolutely fantastic support. It runs circles around the competition. They regularly reach out and chat, even if it's just to see if there's any issues we need to discuss. They clearly want the business and don't forget you once you sign the contract which is an issue with other similar services.
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In-Person Training
Act-On
Dan D. was great. He took the time to understand how I needed the program to run, and was very flexible to our special CRM setup.
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Validity
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Act-On
Act-On had a lot of resources, and their staff was great at answering any questions I had to make sure we got started on the right foot. Looking back, I would have preferred some additional training sessions since we didn't have any previous experience with Marketing Automation and best practices.
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Validity
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Act-On
What impressed me most is that Act-On showed full committment in making our implementation successful, even when it required additional support from their team. This gave me a lot of warm and fuzzy feelings. Most other software software vendors are not anywhere close to being this responsive and effective
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Validity
I joined my company after the implementation was nearly complete. We used the Return Path tool as we slowly increased our send volume in Marketing Cloud to monitor IP reputation and inbox placement.
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Alternatives Considered
Act-On
Act-On is easier to use than Marketo, but not as visually appealing and user-friendly as HubSpot. It's much better than Pardot, as Pardot feel clunky every step of the way. SharpSpring is comparable because of its price point but surpasses Act-On in its tools and intuitive interface. We selected Act-On because of the pricing model and thought all things would be close to parity with other options. It depends on the team you have. If you have developers and a marketing team that knows some html/css, you can get by with Act-On.
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Validity
Like I said before, Return Path is really the budget bundle. You get a lot of service for how much you pay. Since I am currently at an early stage startup, we could not afford Litmus, so having Return Path is crucial. The partnership with Salesforce also allowed us to get it at pretty low cost.
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Scalability
Act-On
Before I feel like I need more features, the Act-On customer service reps are contacting me telling about new features as part of my account.
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Validity
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Act-On
  • With the Automated Series, we were able to put in place campaigns that generated revenue that took no time to continue running once set up. This was a positive feature allowing employees to work on another project while the campaign ran on their own.
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Validity
  • It has helped identify inbox issues and thus helping our clients reach more inboxes.
  • They have negatively impacted client relations on numerous occasions. They have reached out and told clients they are having issues or need certain products when they are already our clients and we are proving solutions for them.
  • They provide solid customer support when you create a support ticket. They are usually very quick to respond and give you an answer.
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ScreenShots

Act-On Screenshots

Screenshot of List Segmentation - Segmentation using behavioral, demographic and/or firmographic dataScreenshot of the Quickstart PageScreenshot of Landing Page Composer - landing pages are designed with a drag and drop function

Everest (Return Path + 250ok) Screenshots

Screenshot of Inbox Placement
Understand inbox placement rates by mailbox provider.Screenshot of Competitive Intelligence
Get visibility into what your competitors are doing well, including subject lines, sending patterns, and more.Screenshot of Design Tests
Collaborate, design, and test your email content across devices and mail clients.Screenshot of Reputation Monitoring
Get the most visibility into your sender reputation.Screenshot of Engagement Metrics
Go beyond the basic data provided by your email service provider. Get a holistic look at all the engagement metrics matters to your email program.Screenshot of List Validation
Verify the addresses on your lists aren't dead, wrong, or dangerous before mailing them and protect your sender reputation.